Board gender diversity and ESG disclosure: the spillover effect of governance

Purpose With the rising demand for companies worldwide to disclose environmental, social and governance (ESG) information, this study investigates the contributions of female board directors to firms’ ESG disclosures. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a sample of 1,387 Chinese A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2021 and includes firm- and board-level data. The hypotheses are tested using multilinear regressions with fixed effects controlled. To ensure robustness, this study applies several regression techniques, including variable substitutions, propensity score matching and instrumental variable tests to mitigate endogeneity issues. Findings This study finds that board gender diversity, as a significant factor in corporate governance, positively influences social responsibility disclosure but lacks significance for environmental disclosure. Considering the contextual factors, this study also finds that board independence and state-owned enterprise status strengthen the positive role of board gender diversity in promoting social disclosure. An improvement in educational background is tested as a possible mechanism through which board gender diversity affects ESG disclosure. Originality/value This study takes a novel perspective to consider gender diversity within the corporate governance framework and identify a spillover effect.